Daughter
by britjanee
Summary: The account of Morgan Janeway, the daughter of the Captain as she is forced to rejoin the crew of Voyager after 15 long years of finally being back on Earth.


Chapter 1

Star after star passed by as Morgan looked out of her bedroom window. Sitting on the edge of her bed, waiting for her summon, she gently pushed her long brown hair out of her face and briefly imagined grass and trees on the other side of her window, instead of stars and nebulas.

"Why Me?" She asked herself, falling flat on her back, her hair now all over her face. She didn't even bother to move it. At that moment, the bedroom door opened, making the swishing sound that Morgan now had to get used to.

" You couldn't even have bothered to knock?" She asked, still laying on her back, not even looking to see who it was.

" I told you to be ready at 1900 hours, Morgan." Said the voice.

" I am ready." Morgan replied, not moving an inch.

" Morgan, I am not going through this with you, now, up!"

Morgan slowly pulled herself up off her bed and onto her feet. Shoving her long locks behind her, she now realized that it wasn't just her mother who was in the room, but another.

"Hello Morgan." Said Chakotay, grey streaks of hair running through his head, he was aging more and more as time went by.

"Hi." Said Morgan, barely audible, without even looking at Chakotay.

" Mom, do I have to?" She asked her mother, halfway pleading in her voice, but trying to be as mature about it as she could.

" Yes, honey. It won't be long." Said Kathryn, glimpsing at Chakotay, then back to her 18 year old daughter.

As all three of them walked out of the room, and into the bright corridor, Morgan pondered on how she managed to get herself where she was in the first place.

I guess I really had no choice, regardless. She thought to herself as they now made their way to the turbo lift.

But I don't see why I couldn't have stayed with Grandma, at least I would be on dry land.

" So Morgan, how are you liking Voyager thus far?" Asked Chakotay as the turbo lift began to move.

" How do you think I'm liking it?" She asked him back.

" MORGAN!"

" MOM! What?! You brought me back on………..back on this THING, fully knowing how I felt about leaving home! WHY AM I HERE????!

Kathryn glared at her daughter, then glanced at Chakotay as the Turbo lift began to stop on the floor of the mess hall.

" Chakotay, give us a moment……..please." She asked him, Chakotay made his way off the turbo lift, as the doors shut behind him, Morgan briefly saw him glancing back at her.

" Morgan Eliza-Beth Janeway, you will not act like a fool in front of my colleagues, do I make myself clear?"

" Mom…I….."

" Morgan, do I make myself clear?"

" Crystal…. I just don't see why I couldn't have stayed with Grandma, or at least with Carmen."

" We've been through this before, you would have driven Grandma insane, and you know fully well that you would not be staying with your best friend, you two already run around too much as it is."

" Or did." Morgan said back, crossing her arms and staring at the ground. She tried to keep tears from filling her eyes."

" Look, you will be home as soon as I can get you there, okay. I just… I just couldn't leave you home by yourself."

" But, I wouldn't have been alone!"

" Morgan, I wasn't going to leave you, regardless. And you know that. Now, we're going to have a civilized dinner and if you have any objections to anything, PLEASE tell me afterwards… alright."

" Yes, Maim."

" Okay, now lets go." Said Kathryn, kissing her daughter on the forehead and pushing the button to open the turbo lift doors.

Crew members in their various uniforms filled the mess hall from wall to wall. The aroma of all sorts of foods was in the air, from spicy to sweet, tangy to rich. As they entered, eye after eye went from table after table to the Captain, then to her daughter.

Sitting at the head table with her mother, Morgan began to wish even more to be home. In her own kitchen, eating with her cousins, or just with her mother, just to be home.

The table was already full of people, Seven of Nine, Tuvok, Belana, Tom Paris, Harry Kim, then Chakotay and the Captain, her mother. Sitting there, Morgan felt out of place, even though she was the Captains daughter, she felt as if she hadn't earned that right to sit among senior officers, or was it they hadn't earned the right to sit with her mother and herself?

" The special for tonight, Turanian Gula Soup with Coka leaves and a hint of Berley seasoning.." Began Neelix, standing at the very far end of the table.

" Up next we have a decadent Nuri meat pasta with steamed Umar vegetables or…" He glanced at Morgan.

"… Spaghetti and meat balls, with vegetables on the side."

" That all sounds great!" Proclaimed Kathryn.

" Well, thank you Captain, which would you like?"

" I think I'll have the Nuri meat pasta, Mr. Neelix."

" Ok then, and for you Morgan?"

" Spaghetti's fine." She said, trying to sound polite. She wasn't quite sure if it came out that way, by the look on her mother's face.

" You wouldn't like to try anything different Morgan?" Asked her mother, as Neelix took other orders.

" No." She said back, longing to at least be in her quarters.

Minutes later Neelix brought out their food, Morgan briefly hesitating to dig into hers.

Wonder if this is beef or…. She thought for a moment, then began to eat as her stomach growled. It wasn't that she had been dieting, but watching what she ate had become a major part of her lifestyle. Especially considering that, over her 19 years, most of the time she found out the hard way if she was allergic to something. As everyone else was talking and eating, Morgan's feeling of being out of place grew.

" So Morgan, it has to have been…what…. 16 years since the last time we've seen you." Tom Paris began.

" You've grown so much."

" Yeah, don't you remember when she would run around voyager like she owned the place! And now your 18! Wow." Belana said.

" So, what have you been up to all of these years?" Tom asked.

What, besides growing up…going to school and being a teenager? Morgan thought.

" Umm…." Morgan began but her mother interrupted her.

" Back home, Morgan's the captain of her schools cheerleading team." Said Kathryn.

I could have said that myself, Morgan thought.

" Really? Two captains in the family! I guess it runs in the blood!" Said Tom.

" Wow, so how long have you been doing that?"

" 6 years, Captaining, for 3."

" I always thought you would be athletic!" Said B'elana.

" You should see her cheer." Kathryn began.

" She knocks the socks off of those other teams."

" You should show us one day, on the holodeck, I think that's something I really would like to see." Said Belana.

Morgan didn't know what quite to say.

" Umm, ok."

" Not only that, but she's been on PS118's academic honours list since she's been there, and just won the national achievement scholarship for the state of New York." Kathryn finished, beaming with joy as she talked about her daughters achievements.

Wanting to melt away in her seat, Morgan took another bite of her spaghetti.

" Amazing, smart and athletic!" Said Tom, also starting to beam."

" So, what are you planning on going in?" Asked Harry Kim. Avoiding the urge to roll her eyes Morgan thought for a moment before answering.

" I haven't really decided yet." She said, lying.

" Really? With all that under your belt." Tom said.

Not replying, Morgan took another bite.

" Mathematics is her strong suit." Kathryn started.

" That and science, she's always enjoyed science."

Realizing her daughters embarrassment, by her now rosy red cheeks, Kathryn quickly changed the subject.

" Well, it has been a decade and a half hasn't it?" She stated.

As the others talked amongst their selves, Morgan became involved in her own little world. Eating what remained of her spaghetti and meatballs and praying that the nights dinner would end sooner than expected.

If I were back home right now, she thought, I'd………I'd………………

Loosing her train of thought, she suddenly realized that her stomach had began hurting more than what was normal. Trying to keep her composure, she sat there, thinking of anything but her paining stomach. As Morgan put her elbows on the table in front of her and hastily ran her fingers through her dark locks, Kathryn began to notice her daughters uneasiness.

" Just another half hour Morgan and you can go." She whispered into her daughters ear.

Normally she would have thought of something smart to say back, but this time she could not.

" May I…….. may I be excused." She asked her mother, a little louder than what she expected.

Taken aback, and as the others looked on, Kathryn thought for a moment, before answering .

" Yes."

As she got up, Morgan held herself together as much as she possibly could.

Just make it to the doors, just make it to the doors. She thought, walking as straight and normal as she could.

With each step it seemed like the mess hall doors got further and further away.

Oh no. Was her last thought, before a slight belch came up, followed by a water flow of the nights dinner. At that exact moment she knew exactly what caused it and also knew that unless she went to sick bay right away, the night would get a lot worse than what it already was.

" MORGAN!" She heard a voice say from a distance, as she buckled to her knees and another flow of meat balls and spaghetti came up. There was no way she could reply. She knew that all eyes were on her, but couldn't manage to get a single word out.

" MORGAN!" Said the voice again, her mother's voice, then her mother's touch.

" Two to beam to sick bay." Were the last words she heard, before falling limp in caressing arms.

………………………………...

"Hey Morgan, Morgan!" Said a long haired latino girl, running up to her friend, fully dressed in their schools uniform.

" Hey!" Morgan said back, looking down to see that she too was dressed.

" So are you ready?"

" As ready as I'll ever be."

" Good….." Carmen began, smile fading as she finished her word.

" Because your out."

What?!" Morgan responded, confused and taken aback."

" I said your out…….did I studder? The team doesn't need you anymore." Carmen said, rejoicing at the news she was bringing to her friend.

" What? But I'm the captain!"

" And I'm the assistant captain. Isn't that the beauty of helping out…….I get to make decisions too."

"But I'm the captain!" Morgan proclaimed back, clinching onto her cheerleading skirt, confusion and anger in her face.

" Not anymore, your not. Your not here anyway Morgan. Your not the captain anymore."

" But I'm the captain!" The girl said back to who she thought was once her friend.

" But I'm the captain!"

………………………………...

Slowly waking up from her restless slumber, Morgan soon realized that it was just a dream.

I am the captain. She thought to herself, then remembering where she was, barely remembering what had occurred during dinner.

Great. She thought as she slowly opened her eyes, squeezing them together as the light of the room filled them. Realizing that she was in sick bay made the sickness of her stomach seem to get a lot worse.

" Morgan." Said the same voice that she heard before passing out.

" Mom….mommy." She said, still a little groggy. As her senses gradually came back to her, she could tell that it wasn't just her mother that was in the room with her.

" How are you feeling?" Her mother asked, as Morgan tried sitting up.

" Take it easy, Morgan."

" Bad." Was the only word that she could get out.

" Food poisoning." Said the doctor, coming over to the captain, then looking down at Morgan.

" Food poisioning?" Morgan asked back, not caring about what her mother said about taking it easy, and sitting up anyway.

" The doctor thinks that you had food poisoning." Kathryn stated, half way as shocked as Morgan was when she heard the news.

" it's the only explanation." The doctor began. As he talked on Morgan noticed Chakotay worriedly looking a few feet away.

" I didn't have food poisoning." Morgan stated, interrupting the doctors tangent.

" I've explained to him your situation Morgan." Her mother said.

" If he says its food poisoning, it must be that."

" No, I…….I….." Feeling faint again Morgan quickly laied back down.

" When ever I eat mushrooms I feel like………well you saw! I know that was it."

" There weren't any mushrooms in your food Morgan." Kathryn said.

" Well, nothing else makes me feel this horrible." She said back, sitting back up again.

" They also make me restless." She stated, noticing Chakotays odd expression when she sat back up.

" I'll have a talk with Neelix." The captain said, caressing her daughters hair. She knew how bad it could have gotten if sickbay hadn't been so close by.

" Has this happened before?" Chakotay asked, moving closer.

" Yes…. When she was."

Morgan cut her mother off.

" When I was about 8.…..was the last time." She began, belching and realizing the her breath didn't smell so nice. Chakotay noticed that while her daughter had vomit breath and dried bits of what had came up earlier, the captain didn't seem to mind one bit. Her daughter was sick, the only thing she wanted to do was to be by her side.

" I was over my friends house for dinner, and her mother put mushrooms in the Turlanian omlette she was fixing…….I didn't notice and kept eating. Then……..well you saw what happened. Only I was 2 hours from home and the nearest emergency bay wasn't for miles away." Stoping, then regaining her composure, she continued.

" By the time my mom came, the hospital had admitted me for food posioning but couldn't stop my vomiting….then came the convulsions and seizures. They still don't know why it gets so bad………..so I've avoided eating mushrooms……until now."

" It wasn't your fault hunny, normally it can get a lot worse than what it was. We're just lucky that we got you to sickbay early enough."

Belching yet again, Morgan felt the sting of medicine that the doctor was administering in her arm.

" Well, this should make you feel a little better, until then…. I suggest rest and … try keeping food off of your stomach."

" I'm sure that won't be a problem." Kathryn said as her com badge went off.

" Captain"

" Go ahead Tom."

" We've found subatomic particales on a near by planet, I think you should come and take a look at it."

" Will be right there." The captain said, pressing her com badge off.

" Morgan, why don't you go to your room and I'll come by later…. If your up for it I'll replicate some soup for you."

" As long as it doesn't have mushrooms in it…." Morgan began, Kathryn smiled at her daughters humour, brushing hair out of her face with her hand, then kissing her on the cheek. As Kathryn left, Morgan got up and made her own way out of sick bay.

" Thanks." Morgan said, before passing the doctor.

Surprised at her politeness, the doctor briefly smiled.

" Some rest should suit you well Morgan…." He began.

" But first thing tomorrow morning I would like you to come in for an analysis, it might be more than just mushrooms that you are allergic to."

" Umm, I'm sure that it is but….. I think I will be just fine!" Morgan said, trying to get out of her newly scheduled appointment.

" Just like you mother. I will see you tomorrow." The doctor said, Morgan rushed out of the door, not knowing that Chakotay was right behind her.

" Morgan." Came his voice, Morgan stopped in her tracks, turning around to see the man with a tattoo on his face, his hair slick.

" Yes." She said, wondering what exactly he would possibly want.

" If you need anything, feel free to ask." Chakotay said.

Morgan stared at him for a second.

" Thanks but, I'm sure I can manage." She stated, then began walking again, towards the turbo lift to go to her room.

" You know, I know how hard it can be, to be away from family and friends. I wasn't just talking about your being sick."

Stopping again, Morgan folded her arms, staring at Chakotay once more.

" If you need someone to talk to or a shoulder to lean on, don't hesitate too…."

Rolling her eyes, Morgan wasn't interested in hearing what Chakotay had to say.

" No offense, but if I were to go to anyone, it wouldn't be you." She said, it coming out a little harsher than expected.

Chakotay, taken aback, began to speak but was cut off.

" I can manage being away from home and making due, by myself, thanks." She said.

" I understand that, but also understand that while your mother is the captain, I am the commander, I should receive an equal amount of respect as the captain should."

Morgan gave the commander of Voyager a smirk.

" That's funny. To me… she's my mother… not the captain… and I am not a member of this crew, but her daughter, it's a little different." Morgan stated before walking off and leaving the commander standing where he was.

………………………………...

After receiving a nights worth of slumber, Morgan Janeway awakened to find that she had missed her doctors appointment by two hours.

" Oh well." She said aloud, laying there in darkness as the stars passed by. Feeling much better she got up and stripped herself of her gritty clothes, then went into her bathroom to take a refreshing steaming hot bath.

Rejuvinated and renewed she walked out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around her body, her wet hair, now curly from the hot water and steam, flowed down her back. Stepping into her bedroom, she was startled to see her mother sitting on her bed.

" MOM!" She said, shocked, then regaining her composure.

" Morgan." Said her mother back, her tone not too pleasant.

" Mom." Morgan said again, wondering what exactly it was that she did wrong. As she began to dry off and put on the days clothing, her mother looked at her, a worried expression on her face, but also one of disappointment.

" How are you feeling?" Her mother started out. Morgan knew this was just an easy way for her to go into what she really had on her mind.

" A lot better, now. The sleep did me well."

" Good, you look better." Said Kathryn. Morgan gulped. Moving over to her closet she got out some clothing and quickly put them on.

" Morgan, sit." Morgan did as she was told.

" The doctor informed me that you missed your appointment today…" Kathryn began but Morgan cut her off.

" I overslept! And I haven't been feeling well. It wasn't my fault!"

" Don't… don't do that Morgan. I've rescheduled your appointment. And, that's the least of my worries right now." Morgan sat there, looking at her mother, wondering what else could possibly be on her mind.

" I need to have a serious conversation with you…"

" We are…"

" In my ready room, I am very disappointed in you."

With a face of confusion, Morgan opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off.

" You disrespected Chakotay…"

" Huh?"

" Come with me." With this, Kathryn headed towards that door.

" But my hair is still wet!" Morgan said, still sitting on her bed. As the rooms doors opened, Morgan took that as her hint to get up and follow her mother out.

Entering the Captains ready room, Morgan racked her brain to figure out what was so wrong with what she said the night before.

So what… It wasn't that big of a deal, I just told him the truth. She thought, sitting down on the long sofa what was attached to the wall.

" Chakotay." Kathryn said, looking into the screen that sat on her desk.

" May I see you please." With this Katyrn gave Morgan a look of straighten up.

As the rooms doors opened, Morgans heart pounded louder and louder, swearing to herself that the whole universe could hear her heartbeat, she remained composed as Chakotay took a seat in front of Kathryn's desk.

" Morgan, do you have anything to say?" Kathryn asked, the both of them staring at her.

Thinking hard, for a second she wondered what her mother could possibly want her to say.

It can't be an apology, she thought. I did nothing wrong!

" Umm, I'm……..I'm sorry?" She said, questioning the statement as it came out.

Kathryn sat there.

" Morgan." She began, thinking that this was going to be a long lecture, Morgan put her head back and closed her eyes.

" I know it's hard for you to be here, but you do need to know that if you ever need someone to run to, don't hesitate to go to either one of us."

Opening her eyes again, Morgans face only showed confusion.

Who's side are you on? She thought, hoping that somehow her mother could read minds.

" I'm disappointed in your behaviour, but I'll give your sickness some of the credit." Kathryn said.

At that moment Chakotay and Kathryn both gave each other a look, as if in aggreance with something.

" Morgan I…" Chakotay began, not knowing what exactly to say. Kathryn interrupted.

" We wanted to tell you this … and now before things get anymore out of hand, we think it would be best if you know."

Sitting straight up and now fully alert, Morgan glanced from Chakotay to Kathryn then back again. Already having a feeling about what the conversation was going to be about, Morgan decided to speak up herself.

" Tell me what?" She asked.

" That… That…" Kathyrn studdered, which wasn't like her, but she knew that the news would be shocking to her daughter, or thought she knew.

" That Chakotays my father." Morgan said. Kathryn looked just as shocked as Morgan looked when she found her in her room. Turning to Kathryn, Chakotay gave her a look of confusion and shock as well.

" How did you…?"

"I've known since the day he came to our house and gave us the news that Voyager's going on another mission. " Kathryn and Chakotay both sat there, perplexed. Realizing that neither of them had words forming in their mouth, Morgan spoke on.

" I mean…. once I saw him, well the similarities, and then well the rest doesn't matter."

" How did you find out Morgan." Kathryn said.

" And why didn't you tell me?"

" After that…. I went through some stuff, found some documents…… I mean, not that same day, but after a while it all started coming together."

Still surprised, Kathryn and Chakotay both began to regain their composure.

" Why didn't you tell me?" Kathryn asked, no longer acting as a captain but as a mother.

" Mom, I still wasn't sure. I mean, I had all the evidence but in my heart I still thought Mark was my dad. This just made it a lot worse."

Chakotay briefly glanced at Kathryn.

" Is that why your behaviour changed Morgan? Because you found out.?"

Morgan paused, to think.

" I don't know. Maybe. I didn't change that much mom." She said, wishing she hadn't told and just played along when they said the news.

Finally finding the urge to speak, Chakotay spoke up.

" regardless of your mother telling you or you finding out on your own, I don't want you to feel as if your all alone on Voyager. You have family here… and will make friends."

Glaring at Chakotay, thousands of thoughts came to Morgan's head. Not caring that her mother was sitting a few feet away, Morgan decided to speak her mind.

" Don't get me wrong." She began.

" I was mad when I found out and am still mad now. Don't try to pull that family crap with me, you weren't a father the last 18 years of my life, what makes you think that you could be one now?" Morgan stood.

" Morgan." Said her mother, stern.

Without saying another word, Morgan walked out of the ready room doors, passing Tuvok along the way. Fury and anger showing on her face as her partially Indian hair flowed behind her, still damp from her bath.

Once she got to her bedroom, she fell onto her bed, a heap of tears flowing out of her brown eyes.

What her mother didn't know was that crying constantly had become apart of her daily reutine. Keeping from spewing tears was a hard task to do. She had known this whole entire time, for months, and kept the information to herself. Mark not being her biological father had been devastating to her, and she still couldn't pinpoint why her mother had never told her.

My mother kept if from me. She thought.

So me keeping it from her shouldn't be a big deal.

Laying there, she thought about her past, all the times Kathryn made it seem as if Mark was her father.

" He still is." She said, getting under the covers, and laying there, even though it was no where near bedtime. As she lay, she let the warmth of the covers overcome her and fell off into a slumber before she even knew it. Within what seemed like minutes, Morgan's bedroom door opened. Still half dazed, she didn't even bother to get up.

" You know, I can't do this every time…." Her mother began, sitting on the edge of Morgan's bed.

" …Everytime what?" Morgan asked.

"…. Every time you decide not to tell me something important with my life…. every time a new surprise wants to pop up in the life of Morgan Janeway?" Morgan sat up. Her mother looked at her, gazing into her daughters eyes, wondering to herself, why she let things get so out of hand.

" If you knew Morgan…:"

" That doesn't matter mom!" Morgan began.

" I knew..I found out… how was I supposed to confront you about that." Morgan could feel the tears began to swell up in her eyes.

" I…" Her mother started, at a loss for words.

" I, I didn't want to hurt you.Morgan, Chakotay had a lot of things going on when we first came back to Earth and at the time it was best to just… to just keep things silent, you were three Morgan."

Morgan didn't speak, but she wondered what he could possibly have going on in life that he couldn't manage to lend a hand in raising his own child.

" We agreed, since Mark would be a better figure at the time then he would, to let things just…come to pass. You knew he was your father when you were younger, when we were back on Voyager…"

" I was three! Are you trying to say that I should have just…just remembered him?!"

" No, hunny, no, I'm trying to say… I…." As Morgan looked on in silence, she could see tears falling from her mothers face. It was the first time in years that she had seen her mother actually cry.

" What I'm trying to say is…." Kathryn started.

" …. I'm sorry, Morgan. I…"

" Mom." Morgan said, moving over to her mother and hugging her close.

" Mom, whatever it is, whatever the reason, I forgive you." Morgan couldn't stand to see her mother shed another tear. Seeing her mother in a state like this made her see that there were no words that her mother could put it, whatever the reason, Morgan decided that that reason must have been for her own good.

As Kathryn looked up at her daughter from this sudden kindness, Morgan clung onto her mother closer.

" I umm… shouldn't have run out earlier like I did. Its just that… after all of this time, that information has been bottled up inside me. I mean, I wanted to say something, anything, to anyone… but just… I just couldn't. I'll ummm……" Morgan couldn't believe she was about to say what she was about to say.

" I'll go and apologize to Chakotay… If you want me to, I was kind of out of order." Kathryn gave Morgan a smile, even though she knew that Morgan didn't want to do it.

" That would be nice, I think that it would be best if we all discuss this sooner..than later." Kathryn said, standing up, Morgan did the same.

" Over dinner, tonight. It'll be just the three of us in my quarters, that should be nice." As Kathryn finished saying this, Morgan could tell that she was still chocked up but as the seconds passed, her composure was gained.

" Umm dinner. Ok." Began Morgan.

" Are you cooking?" She jokingly said to her mother.

" 1900 hours." Kathryn said as she walked out of Morgan's bedroom door and back to the bridge.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By half past six, Morgan began to dress. She thought that she would wear her Graduation dress that her Granmother gave to her as a present before they were summoned to join Voyager again. The peach coloured dress hit right above her knees, it's fabric soft and delicate. As Morgan combed her hair down past her sholders, she looked at herself into the mirror.

" Why did she never tell me?" She asked aloud. Sighing to herself, she then decided to make her way to her mother's quarters.

Walking down the corridor, turning left and then down another long corridor, she longed once more to be back home. Once to her mother's quarters, Morgan pressed the button.

" Come In" Said her mother's voice.

Entering the lit room, Morgan noticed the dining table towards the right, it's dinner plates set accordingly. Chakotay sat at one end of the table. As Morgan walked in more, Chakotay stood up, walking over to her. What is he doing? Morgan wondered to herself as her mother gave her a hug.

" Good evening Morgan." Chakotay said, coming closer and actually hugging the child. Morgan, taking aback, hesitated to return the hug.

" Ummm…..good evening." Morgan said, staring at Chakotay for a second before turning to her mother.  
" What's for dinner?" She asked as they all sat down at the dinner table.

" Your favourite, roast and potatoes for dinner. Strawberrry Cheesecake for dessert." Kathryn said, uncapping the nights food. A pleasant aroma filled the room's air.

That must be the replicator's doing. Morgan thought, thinking back on her mother's actual cooking and knowing that it never smelled anything like this before.

" Great." She said.


End file.
